Blessed Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is upon us once more. Not that I do not enjoy it. I love all the colour,sights and sounds that it brings. Above all the eating and red packets! But every year at this time of the year, there is nothing much to do for those non-chinese amongst us. The shows on TV are usually crap. All the stores are closed. One can of course go to the zoo or other such places if one desires. Or the beach. But somehow for me personally CNY is often filled with aimlessness. I guess it is a classic case of too much time and too little to do. An option would be to go on a overseas trip every year at CNY,Super Peak rates notwithstanding.

Watched Memoirs of a Geisha yesterday. Found it to be a rather good movie despite the hype. Cinematography was top notch and the set pieces were rather well done. The child actress who played the young Chiyo was exceptional. Zhang Ziyi was surprisingly good in her role. But somehow I felt someone else should have been cast in the titular role. She may be pretty and the top actress in chinese cinema, but somehow she did not make the role of Sayuri her own. Maybe she did not fit my mental picture of a geisha. It may be just me,but she seemed too thin and fragile for the headstrong and determined Sayuri. Another thing that struck me was the inconsistence in language throughout the film. We started off in japanese, and then miraculously everyone started speaking in english. And then at some points the dialogue alternated between english and japanese! I think it would have been better to either stick to english throughout or have all the dialogue in japanese accompanied by english subtitles to be more consistent. The other jarring thing I noticed is the difference in grammar and enunciation between members in the cast(even the same character!). For example the young Chiyo and the older Chiyo, the younger self seems to be more adept at english than her older self. Same thing applies to her best friend Pumpkin at various stages. Michelle Yeoh played the famed Mameha who speaks crisp and clear english. Likewise the Chairman played by Ken Watanabe. This makes them seem rather misplaced in their scenes with other characters who somehow do not match up to them diction-wise. The director should have found a middle ground to which everyone spoke the same way. But perhaps I am being too critical.
Rating: 4 kimonos out of 5

After the movie we drove around a bit especially around the Chinatown area. Agnes was not feeling too well inexplicably so we headed home. There were rehearsals going on for the big CNY show while we were there. Strange as it may seem to some, I have never been to Chinatown during the lead up to CNY.Maybe next year.

We had watched our movie at GV Grand at Great World City. But by sheer coincidence mum and dad were there at the same time. Somehow our paths did not cross.

Agnes has been busy at school lately and it seems to be taking a toll on her health. She seems tired and detached. May also be factored in that she not been well. Lack of rest,early to school and late nights all make Agnes a dull girl. In fact we are not sure if we can even meet up as much as I would like during this lunar season due to all her outstanding work and stuff she needs to do.

My fish (and lobsters) seem to be doing well. No major fatalities except for a couple the first couple of days (which is par for the course when new fish are introduced into an established tank). Even the clown loaches are doing well. Which is a good sign as they are the most sensitive fish in the current setup, meaning that if anything goes wrong they would be the first to exhibit any symptoms. Another concern of mine is the feeding of the lobsters. They are basically opportunistic feeders who prefer live food and willingly eat dead animals. The problem is how to fulfill their nutritional requirements without having to change the water in their tank at least once a day! Live food and dead fish cloud the water and smell bad after a few hrs. I tried dried brine shrimp but they do not seem to be taking too well to it. I could try feeder fish or worms.maybe that might work better..